Waterbrick Down

Valesia pockets the name tag making note to ask Grumble later. "I'm all set, let's descend."

MM Note: Correct. Each player's takes their full turn before the next player can take theirs.

MM Note: Don't forget about weapon ranges folks, if you're using a Long Range weapon you want to be 3 squares away to not incur penalties, if short range two squares away.

No problem at all. That's the joy of the play-by-post format, it's intended to be casual and have players come and go as life allows. We'll be here.

"I'd echo Enson's reply here, your kingdom is not sustainable. At some point others will come who are not as understanding or willing to compromise." Valesia walks over and investigates the shiny object.

"Certainly, you'll need a key card to access it anyways." The attendant leads the group through the Dining Car and then the First Class Seating Car before arriving at the door to the Baggage Car. "Sorry it might be a little dark in there, most of the time no one bothers keeping the lights on between stations, so you might need to look for a switch. If it's all the same to you, I'll wait out here." The heroes are ushered into the baggage car amongst piled high stacks of luggage.

Correct, then the rallying player’s smarts dice are added to the rallied player’s next attack.

"Heavens above, that man is going to get himself killed leaving us down here alone." Valesia downs an Ætherbrew and casts Revealing Light on herself before climbing upwards in the chute.

MM Note: Due note that either Polaris will need to be adjacent to Felix or vice versa in order to use the Plasma Potion.

The heroes feel the train begin to get underway, a low hum slowly sinks into the background noise as the rocky landscape quickly speeds by. The Thudaal and Celestial continue in quiet conversation, the Dwarf takes a nap, and the Human sits contentedly reading their holopad.

MM Note: For future reference, this sort of strategy would fall more under the Deception proficiency, however I'll let it slide this time for the creative usage. MM Note: For purposes of fairness I'm going to rule that in order to hack the drone, Felix would need to be physically in contact with it and thus need to move to an adjacent square. Round 5 Varen Persuasion Check (DC 5) - 1, 4, 1, 3, 5, +1 (3 Successes) - Nothing happensFelix moves to D3 Felix Coding Check (DC 3) - 6, 1, 4, 2, +1 (3 Successes) - Drone A Stunned for next Round Polaris Athletics Check (DC 1, 3) - 6, 2, 5 (2 Successes) - Drone B takes 1 Damage, Drone A takes 0 Damage Drone B vs. Polaris - (3, 2, +1) 1 Success vs. (5, 3) 1 Successes = 0 Damage Drone A - Stunned The heroes try improvising strategies on the fly. Varen attempts to convince one robot to attack the other, but the simple programing of the drone prevents it from falling for Varen's ruse. Felix steps in however and attempts a more hardwire approach and quickly finds an access point with which to interrupt its auxiliary coding temporarily disabling it. Polaris notes the crystalline fruit hanging overhead and begins whacking the tree in an attempt to strike the drones with the dropping vegetation. The branches are now bare but she does manage to score a hit on one of the drones. Enemies Security Drone A *Small* *Stunned (1 Round Remaining)* Vitality: 3/5 Velocity: 2 Strength: 1 Skill: 3 Smarts: 1 Proficiencies: Long Range Weapons 2, Melee Weapons 2, Perception 2 Credits: 0 Equipment: Ion Repeater (Standard Energy Long Range Weapon) Inventory: Stun Sword (Standard Elemental Melee Range Weapon) Security Drone B *Small* Vitality: 2/5 Velocity: 2 Strength: 1 Skill: 3 Smarts: 1 Proficiencies: Long Range Weapons 2, Melee Weapons 2, Perception 2 Credits: 0 Equipment: Stun Sword (Standard Elemental Melee Range Weapon) Inventory: Ion Repeater (Standard Energy Long Range Weapon) *Small creatures may simply occupy the same space as another small creature* Party Polaris Ursaring [with M.I.L.E.S.] (samurai-turtle) 15 cycle old female "Chimeran" Character Points: 0/10 Vitality: 1/8 Velocity: 2 Strength: 2 Skill: 2 Smarts: 2 Spirit: 0 Proficiencies: Medicine 1, Melee Weapons 1, Nature 1, Short Range Weapons 1, Spells: none, Credits: 10 Equipment: Mecha Strike (standard, kinetic, melee weapon), Inventory: Nanite Elixer (2x), Plasma Potion (2x), Varen Nastayo (KotZ) 26, Male, Human Character Points: 0/10 Vitality: 3/5 Velocity: 2 Strength: 1 Skill: 2 Smarts: 2 Spirit: 0 Proficiencies: Culture 2, Deception 1, Insight 1, Persuasion 2, Long Range Weapon 1 Known Spells (if applicable): Credits: 55 Equipment: Lawyer's Rifle (Standard Long Range Energy weapon), Translator Cube Inventory: 1x Essence of Glibness, 1x Essence of Intellect Felix Mao (Khorne) *Mission Leader* 37 Cycles Old Male Chimeran Character Points: 1/10 Vitality: 5/5 Velocity: 3 Strength: 1 Skill: 2 Smarts: 2 Spirit: 1 Proficiencies: Short Range Weapons 1, Insight 1, Coding 1, Survival 1, Nature 1 Known Spells: Enhanced Vision Credits: 0 Equipment: 'Old Reliable' Plasma Handgun (Standard Short Range Energy Weapon), Hacking Chip Inventory: Plasma Potion (1x), Cloaking Generator,

"Would you like some light Enson?"

Yep, it definitely allows for more creative problem solving if anyone wants to use it. Don't forget the Rally and Defend actions either. Based on your stats, you all can boost each other's attack or defense rolls by 2 dice.

Granted if we get it right in one guess, the explosive goes off right in our faces.

"Cranium Rats! I knew I had seen those somewhere before. They were always making nests near the grove growing up and interrupting the elder's Remembering with their psychic chatter. Quite the nuisance really. If there's a nest of them down there we'll have to be careful like." Valesia peers down the chute trying to determine if anyone could fit or if they'd have to unblock some of it first. "What you got there, Sweetie?" Valesia reads the note over Aysu's shoulder. "Huh, so are we still missing this safety application device or is it incorporated into the explosive?"

Assassin now seems a good blend of sniper and the previous version. I like the defensive nature of Battlemage's action, it'll probably be more useful as right now I don't imagine lots of enemies will sport armor Hacker I feel needs to be a class given the setting, but it's still dependent upon enemy typing's which don't currently exist. Assassin and Outlander actions might be too similar, the intention was to make the Outlander fit the typical "ranger" feel without reverting to the OHKO specialization of the assassin. I'm ok with a semi-spell caster role, maybe it's just the name that is bothering me. I tend to think Illusionist might be a more apt name. The emphasis on combat I think is warranted. It takes up nearly half the rules and I believe because of the influence of modern RPG's and MMO's a lot of people tend to still think of their character in terms of what their role in an adventuring party is, not necessarily what is the occupation of their character. Most missions I assume are going to have combat in them, so it would make sense for players' classes to contribute to this big part of the game so that they don't feel left out due to their class choice. The idea behind different roles in an adventuring party is that each member can potentially make up for the deficiency of the others. I'd love to have more non-combat classes, but I also don't want players to feel bummed if the missions never really line up with their non-combat class. We could have an carpenter class, but I highly doubt we'll have many missions related to construction. The distinction between martial and skilled was more to distinguish between Spirit classes and non-Spirit classes. Thematically, I tend to think of the Warlock as the Occult spell caster with a pact/contract to an other spherely entitiy/power. Witches to me are more the dwell in the woods healer/alchemist/hexers that derive power more from taking advantage of the natural/supernatural sources.

Like I said, the second rubric is more an attempt to fill in gaps. It's understood that the mechanics of the class would need to be shifted to help them fit those roles better. As for feel, I'd argue that Sorcerer is often more associated with arcane magic than stage hand trickery. Again, I'm not necessarily tied to the rubric, it was simply trying to address the criticism that the classes as they currently are make it difficult for someone simply looking to fill a certain mechanical role to not have to read/understand every single class.

So I decided to break the current classes into a grid based on earlier comments about role and feel. A fair number of the classes are hybrids, so I've grouped them with what the majority of their traits/actions focus upon. First a few definitions: Roles Tank: Primarily has traits and actions used to either mitigate damage, protect other players, or lock down enemies so they aren't a threat to the rest of the group. DPS: Primarily has traits for increasing damage output and taking enemies down quickly Controller: Primarily has traits to deal with multiple enemies or effect the battle's environment in some way Support: Primarily has traits that buff other players or heal them Specialist: Very focused on one particular skill generally non-combat related Feel Martial: The more "real-world" skilled characters that are good at what they do because of their training Arcane: Characters that derive their abilities from magical sources (whether innate or studied) Divine: Religious or philosophical characters with power stemming from a particular set of beliefs Nature: Similar to divine characters but with more of a focus upon the natural world as a conduit for their abilities Occult: Those characters with a flare for borrowed power or with relations to other spheres of reality or "dark" magics Martial Arcane Divine Nature Occult Tank Espaiter, Guardian, Pugilist Crusader DPS Assassin, Scoundrel, Sniper, Swashbuckler Battlemage Berserker, Survivalist Controller Gunslinger Illusionist, Mage, Sorcerer Martial Artist Hermit Summoner, Warlock Support Engineer, Medic, Warrior Skald Priest Necromancer, Witch Specialist Detective, Hacker, Scholar Ætherdiver Prosecutor As we can see there are some gaps. If I were trying to balance these I might suggest the following changes: Martial Arcane Divine Nature Occult Tank Guardian, Pugilist Battlemage Crusader Berserker Espaiter DPS Scoundrel, Sniper, Swashbuckler Sorcerer Prosecuter Survivalist Warlock Controller Gunslinger, Hacker Illusionist, Mage Martial Artist Hermit Summoner Support Engineer, Medic, Warrior Skald Priest Alchemist? Witch Specialist Detective, Scholar Ætherdiver Assassin and Sniper are similar enough to combine in my opinion. Necromancer while unique I feel could be captured as part of Summoner. Espaiter is currently a "space marine" but I think it has the potential to be more themed around dealing with occultish threats similar to how the prosecutor deals with religious threats. I'm not the biggest fan of specialist roles, but I'd rather not make everything focused around combat roles, if we have them for Martial and Arcane, part of me would like to see something similar for Divine, Nature, and Occult. I realize that this would require reworking traits/actions for some classes, but this setup would provide for more balance of role and feel.

MM Note: Insight would probably give you information on weaknesses, Persuasion would be trying to convince the security drones of something.

Yep that's certainly one strategy. Coding could be used to try and disable or hamper the robots, Athletics maybe to grapple them, Deception to try and feint for better damage avoidance, Perception to maybe spot a weakness, using the environment like you're doing is also a good idea like the tree or the flowers.

All good changes.

I've got to say @Kintobor I'm really liking the subtle world building you're doing with Varuth. @Classic_Spaceman I don't think Zaria was confused about Yelana's motive in getting the drink delivered, it was more that Yelana made helping the attendant (a job that is revered in Zaria's religion) conditional upon delivering the drink.

Yelana notes that while her headset enhances her perception of the area, she'd need to upgrade her equipment to pick up the more uncommon signals. Yelana Perception Check (DC 3): 1, 4, 5, 1, +1 (3 Success) "...and then I told him he had varkath dung for brains if he thought we could keep that sort of a timeline." "Ha! It's about time someone brought him back to reality. The project is already underfunded and understaffed." "Sales, right? They make all the promises, but they never have to do any of the real work." "You said it! I mean take this train, the engine alone has got to be spec'd for nearly 20 foes, and yet the speed they promised on the brochure is twice what this thing is capable of." "Marketing, I tell you..." MM Note: Perception proficiency checks are still limited to Yelana's actual senses. While her visor can enhance this (I'm interpreting it as a reskin of her Farsight Goggles) , it won't be able to pick up on things she doesn't naturally detect like energy signatures or communication frequencies. It's a bit too much of a mechanical advantage for a non-mechanical item, at least for this mission. "Your drinks." The attendant hands out the beverages before continuing. "The chef in the dining car mentioned what sounded like grunting and at least two voices. He wanted me to investigate it as was beneath someone of his 'talent'." "Thank you mam... my offer is still valid. If you could see to the disturbance in the baggage car I'll be clad to get you and your party some restorative refreshments. You are free to share them with whomever you wish."

Having observed the rats from earlier, Valesia wonders if their appearance stems from their natural biology or if they seemed mutated in some fashion. "Oh dear, Mr. Grumble do be careful, while we're thankful for the assistance we really don't need you injuring yourself on our behalf."

MM Note: Don't forget folks, you've got a few other available actions like Defend and Rally. There's also always the "try something" action which allows you to attempt something creative using a proficiency check. Some idea's given the current situation, nature, coding, survival, insight, deception. I'll leave up the application to you guys. Round 4 Varen vs. Drone A - (4, +1) 2 Successes vs. (4, 2, 5) 2 Success = 0 DamageFelix vs. Drone A - (3, +1) 1 Successes vs. (4, 5, 4) 3 Successes = 0 Damage Polaris vs. Drone B - (5, +1) 2 Successes vs. (5, 1, 6) 2 Success = 0 Damage Drone B vs. Polaris - (2, 4, +1) 2 Success vs. (3, 5) 1 Successes = 1 Damage Drone A vs. Varen - (3, 2, +1) 2 Successes vs. (3, 4) 1 Successes = 0 Damage The security robots continue to evade the heroes shots as Polaris inches closer to going down. Enemies Security Drone A *Small* Vitality: 3/5 Velocity: 2 Strength: 1 Skill: 3 Smarts: 1 Proficiencies: Long Range Weapons 2, Melee Weapons 2, Perception 2 Credits: 0 Equipment: Ion Repeater (Standard Energy Long Range Weapon) Inventory: Stun Sword (Standard Elemental Melee Range Weapon) Security Drone B *Small* Vitality: 3/5 Velocity: 2 Strength: 1 Skill: 3 Smarts: 1 Proficiencies: Long Range Weapons 2, Melee Weapons 2, Perception 2 Credits: 0 Equipment: Stun Sword (Standard Elemental Melee Range Weapon) Inventory: Ion Repeater (Standard Energy Long Range Weapon) *Small creatures may simply occupy the same space as another small creature* Party Polaris Ursaring [with M.I.L.E.S.] (samurai-turtle) 15 cycle old female "Chimeran" Character Points: 0/10 Vitality: 1/8 Velocity: 2 Strength: 2 Skill: 2 Smarts: 2 Spirit: 0 Proficiencies: Medicine 1, Melee Weapons 1, Nature 1, Short Range Weapons 1, Spells: none, Credits: 10 Equipment: Mecha Strike (standard, kinetic, melee weapon), Inventory: Nanite Elixer (2x), Plasma Potion (2x), Varen Nastayo (KotZ) 26, Male, Human Character Points: 0/10 Vitality: 3/5 Velocity: 2 Strength: 1 Skill: 2 Smarts: 2 Spirit: 0 Proficiencies: Culture 2, Deception 1, Insight 1, Persuasion 2, Long Range Weapon 1 Known Spells (if applicable): Credits: 55 Equipment: Lawyer's Rifle (Standard Long Range Energy weapon), Translator Cube Inventory: 1x Essence of Glibness, 1x Essence of Intellect Felix Mao (Khorne) *Mission Leader* 37 Cycles Old Male Chimeran Character Points: 1/10 Vitality: 5/5 Velocity: 3 Strength: 1 Skill: 2 Smarts: 2 Spirit: 1 Proficiencies: Short Range Weapons 1, Insight 1, Coding 1, Survival 1, Nature 1 Known Spells: Enhanced Vision Credits: 0 Equipment: 'Old Reliable' Plasma Handgun (Standard Short Range Energy Weapon), Hacking Chip Inventory: Plasma Potion (1x), Cloaking Generator,